Galunggung

Galunggung
Gunung Galunggung
Lightning strikes during the 1982 eruption of Galunggung
Highest point
Elevation	2,168 m (7,113 ft)
Listing	Ribu
Coordinates	7°15′24″S 108°04′37″E / 7.2567315°S 108.0770588°E / -7.2567315; 108.0770588Coordinates: 7°15′24″S 108°04′37″E / 7.2567315°S 108.0770588°E / -7.2567315; 108.0770588
Geography
Galunggung Location on Java
Location	West Java, Indonesia
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	January 1982

Mount Galunggung (Indonesian: Gunung Galunggung, formerly spelled Galoen-gong) is an active stratovolcano in West Java, Indonesia, around 80 km (50 mi) southeast of the West Java provincial capital, Bandung (or around 25 km (16 mi) to the east of the West Java town of Garut). Mount Galunggung is part of the Sunda Arc extending through Sumatra, Java and Bali, which has resulted from the subduction of the Australian plate beneath the Eurasian plate.

For the first time since 1921 after eruptions finished and conditions seemed normal, on February 12, 2012, the status was upgraded to Alert based on changes in conditions. On 28 May 2012, it was lowered from 2 back to 1 (On a scale of 1-4)

The last major eruption on Galunggung was in 1982, which had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4 and indirectly killed 18 people in traffic accidents and by starvation. This eruption also brought the dangers of volcanic ash to aviation to worldwide attention, after two Boeing 747 passenger jets flying downwind of the eruption suffered temporary engine failures and damage to exterior surfaces, both planes being forced to make emergency landings at Jakarta airport.

One, a British Airways aircraft traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Perth, Australia carrying 240 passengers, accidentally entered the ash cloud during night in June 1982 150 km (93 mi) downwind of the volcano. All four engines failed due to the buildup of volcanic ash, and the aircraft descended for 16 minutes, losing 7,500 m (24,606 ft) of its 11,500 m (37,730 ft) altitude, until the crew managed to restart the engines and land in Jakarta.

The following month, a Singapore Airlines aeroplane with approximately 230 passengers aboard also inadvertently entered the cloud at night, and three of its four engines stopped. The crew succeeded in restarting one of the engines after descending 2,400 m (7,874 ft). Both aircraft suffered serious damage to their engines and exterior surfaces.